Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.67.

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $121.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.98. Novartis has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $124.45. The company has a market capitalization of $257.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.70% and a return on equity of 39.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Novartis during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth $25,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Novartis

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.

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